Miami Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake rarely gets mentioned when people discuss the best defensive players to play in the National Football League over the last decade. That is not only puzzling, it’s also downright foolish.

Since 2009, his first year in the league, Wake has accumulated 87 1/2 sacks, which is more than every other player in the league over that stretch of time.

For the overwhelming majority of his football career Wake flown under the radar and has never really gotten the respect he deserves.

He entered the league in 2005 as an undrafted free agent linebacker (despite running a 4.55-second 40-yard dash at his pro day) from Penn State. He had a very brief stint with the New York Giants during the 2005 offseason, but he was cut before even getting a chance to compete in training camp.

From there, Wake took his talents north of the border, signing a deal to play with the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League. He made the switch from linebacker to defensive end in the CFL, and a star was officially born.